BLOOD CEREMONY
The Old Ways Remain
(Psychedelic Doom | Occult Rock)
Label: Plastic Head (Soulfood)
Format: (LP)
Release: 05.05.2023
The Old Ways will cast their spell all over again.
Blood Ceremony’s most ambitious record to date…
What do JETHRO TULL, BLACK SABBATH, JIMI HENDRIX and LED ZEPPELIN have in common? All are rock icons and have given the music world a great deal. They were also such an inspiration to Sean Kennedy that he founded BLOOD CEREMONY in Torornto in 2006.
With their first four albums, the band was already a guarantee for psychedelic sounds. On “The Old Ways Remain”, these influences are more audible than ever before. With “The Hellfire Club” things get pretty doomy, the use of the almost crystal-clear voice of Alia O’Brien immediately makes you think of “Jefferson Airplane”. In the solo part, the flute dominates, which is then replaced by a Hendrix-like guitar.
Sean Kennedy asserts that the song was written before the show Stranger Things knew about the Hellfire Club and put it on its card. I can reassure him, because this was founded in 1720 and has been used as a title since then.
“Ipsissimus” begins with a flute and the recurring title word “Ipsissimus” literally hypnotically burns into your memory. A song that, since Alia has vocals and flute, will be difficult to play live. But that shouldn’t be my problem.
With a saxophone solo including a strong Hammond organ, “Eugenie” surprises across the board and is becoming my favorite on the new album. A bit poppy, but still good groovy, it continues with “Lolly Willows” and “Powers Of Darkness” until “The Bonfires At Belloc Coombe” and “Widdershins” pick you up again completely in the direction of the 70s ALICE COOPER, SABBATH and LED ZEPPELIN . Although “Hecate” is about the Greek goddess of magic, this song has something cheerful compared to the others and could also have come from the musical HAIR. With “Mossy Wood” (this song was written by Kennedy’s wife Amy Bowles for another band they both used to be in – but fits in perfectly) and “Song Of The Morrow” leans towards “The Old Ways Remain”. End.
It took seven years until a new album by BLOOD CEREMONY was released. And was it worth waiting for? Definitely, that’s all I can say! The band easily manages to combine the well-known with the new, without appearing as a simple imitation of old masters. And they have that ahead of many other bands that are also committed to retro and psychedelic rock. You can see and hear in the case of BLOOD CEREMONY: old ways that seem well-trodden can always convince and lead to the goal with great attention to detail
Tracklist „The Old Ways Remain“:
1. The Hellfire Club
2. The most
3. Eugenie
4. Lolly Willows
5. Powers Of Darkness
6. The Bonfires At Belloc Coombe
7. Widdershins
8. Hecate
9. Mossy Wood
10. Song Of The Morrow
Total playing time: 43:12
Band-Links:
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